1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a damper for a grand piano, which moves into and out of contact with strings in a manner interlocked with operation of a pedal or the like, to thereby stop and allow vibration of the strings, and more particularly to a structure of a rail for supporting damper levers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 2 shows part of a conventional damper of a general type for a grand piano. The damper 51 is comprised of a damper lever rail 52, a plurality of damper levers 3, and a plurality of damper heads (see FIG. 1) associated with the respective damper levers 3. The damper lever rail 52 formed by an extruded component of aluminum is arranged behind a plurality of keys, not shown, in a manner extending along a direction of a row of the keys. The plurality of damper levers 3 are each provided for a corresponding one of the keys. Each damper lever 3 has a rear end portion thereof pivotally supported by the damper lever rail 52 via a damper lever flange 5 and a front end portion thereof opposed to the rear end portion of the corresponding key from above. A damper wire flange 6 is pivotally mounted to the damper lever 3, and a damper wire 7 extends upward from the damper wire flange 6. The damper head is attached to the upper end of the damper wire 7 such that the damper head can be brought into and out of contact with a string, not shown, stretched horizontally below the damper head (see FIG. 1).
In the damper 51 constructed as above, when a key is depressed, a corresponding one of the damper levers 3 is pushed upward by the rear end portion of the key, and in unison with the upward movement of the damper lever 3, a damper head corresponding to the damper lever 3 moves upward out of contact with a corresponding string. Then, a hammer, not shown, which pivotally moves in a manner interlocked with key depression strikes the string, whereby the string is caused to vibrate to generate a piano tone. On the other hand, when the key is released, the damper lever 3 pivotally moves downward to return to its original position, and in unison with the downward movement of the damper lever 3, the damper head moves downward into contact with the string, whereby the vibration of the string or sounding of the piano tone is stopped.
The damper 51 further includes a lifting rail 58. The lifting rail 58 formed by an extruded component of aluminum is arranged below the plurality of damper levers 3 in a manner extending along a direction of a row of the damper levers 3. The lifting rail 58 is connected to the damper lever rail 52 by a plurality of connection members 60. The connection members 60 each formed by a wooden block are arranged in a manner spaced from each other in the direction of the row of the damper levers 3 and each placed on the two rails 52, 58 in a manner bridging them. Each connection member 60 is fixed to the two rails 52, 58 by screws 61 from above, thereby connecting the rails 52, 58 to form a unitary assembly.
Further, the outermost two of the plurality of connection members 60 (only one of them is shown in the figure) each have a pin 62 projecting outward therefrom. The pins 62 are rotatably fitted in and supported by a piano body, not shown, such that the unitary assembly of the damper lever rail 52 and the lifting rail 58 can pivotally move in unison with the pins 62 about the rotational axis thereof. The lifting rail 58 is placed on a damper lift rail pitman 9 extending vertically. The damper lift rail pitman 9 has a lower end portion thereof connected to a damper pedal, not shown.
In the construction described above, when the damper pedal is stepped on, the lifting rail 58 is pushed upward by the damper lift rail pitman 9 to cause the unitary assembly of the lifting rail 58 and the damper lever rail 52 to pivotally move upward in unison with the pins 62 about the rotational axis thereof. As a result, all the damper levers 3 are pivotally moved upward to bring all the damper heads out of contact with the respective strings simultaneously, which allows resonance between strings corresponding to depressed keys and ones corresponding to other keys to thereby create a damper pedal effect.
In the above conventional damper 51, however, since the plurality of connection members 60 are used to connect the damper lever rail 52 and the lifting rail 58, it is required to machine and provide the connection members 60 in advance. Further, it is required to carry out the troublesome assembling operation of placing each connection member 60 on the two rails 52, 58 in a manner bridging them and then fixing the connection member 60 to the rails 52, 58 by the screws 61. In addition, in this assembling operation, it is required to adjust the positional relationship between the two rails 52, 58 properly such that each damper lever 3 can be properly pushed upward by a corresponding key associated therewith and at the same time, all the damper levers 3 can be pivotally moved upward simultaneously by the lifting rail 58. Moreover, since the connection members 60 are formed of wood, warpage of the connection members 60 and loosening of the screws 61 can occur after the above adjustment. Therefore, even if the positional relationship between the two rails 52, 58 is properly adjusted during the assembling operation, the positional relationship can change with the lapse of time, which requires readjustment.
It is an object of the invention to provide a damper for a grand piano, which is simple in construction and can be manufactured at reduced costs by reducing the number of components, the number of assembling steps, and the number of adjustment operations.
To attain the above object, the present invention provides a damper for a grand piano, which moves out of contact with strings in a manner interlocked with operation of a damper pedal, to thereby create a damper pedal effect to a musical tone generated.
The damper according to the invention is characterized by comprising:
a damper lever rail;
a plurality of damper levers each having a rear end portion thereof pivotally mounted to the damper rail and each extending forward;
damper heads each of which is connected to an upper side of a corresponding one of the plurality of damper levers and brought out of contact with a corresponding one of the strings as the corresponding damper lever pivotally moves upward; and
a lifting rail arranged below the plurality of damper levers, for pivotally moving the plurality of damper levers upward simultaneously by being pushed upward when the damper pedal is operated,
wherein the damper lever rail and the lifting rail are formed by a molded component as a unitary member and arranged in a pivotally movable manner.
According to this damper for a grand piano, the damper lever rail and the lifting rail are formed by a molded component as a unitary member, and the plurality of damper levers are pivotally mounted to the damper lever rail (portion) of the molded component. Further, the molded component is pivotally mounted in the grand piano such that when the damper pedal is stepped on, the lifting rail is pushed upward to pivotally move the plurality of damper levers upward simultaneously. When all the damper levers are moved upward simultaneously, the plurality of damper heads are all brought out of contact with the respective strings, whereby a damper pedal effect is created.
As described above, according to the damper of the present invention, the damper lever rail and the lifting rail are formed by the molded component as a unitary member while maintaining the function of a damper rail for pivotally supporting a plurality of damper levers and the function of a lifting rail for providing a damper pedal effect in accordance with depression of a damper pedal. Therefore, it is possible to dispense with all the connection members conventionally used for connecting the two rails, thereby reducing the number of components and simplifying the construction of the damper. Further, for the same reason, it is possible to dispense with the operations of assembling the two rails by using the connection member and adjusting the positional relationship between the rails. As a result, manufacturing costs of the damper can be reduced.
Preferably, the molded component is an extruded component of aluminum.
According to this preferred embodiment, since the molded component is an extruded component of aluminum which ensures a high dimensional accuracy and stability, it is possible to mount the damper rail and the lifting rail in the grand piano accurately in a less warpage-prone, stable state.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.